Important changes to Children's Court sittings in remote and regional Western Australia

Information Note

To make the Practice Directions accessible we have not used paragraph numbering. If you need this, please see the PDF version.

This Information Note is approved by the President of the Children's Court of Western Australia under s 37 of the Children's Court of Western Australia Act 1988. It also serves as public notice of decisions about where and when the Children’s Court will sit, in accordance with s 13 of the Act.

The changes detailed in this Information Note will take effect from 1 June 2026.

1. Background

Regional Children's Court sittings in Western Australia depend upon arrangements between the Department of Justice and Western Australia Police (WAPOL) made under the Court Security and Custodial Services Act 1999 for court security and custodial services.

Pursuant to those long-standing arrangements, WAPOL provides court security and custodial services in many regional courts. Heads of jurisdiction have been advised that WAPOL is unable to guarantee the ongoing provision of these essential services in coming months, and that, save in exceptional circumstances, no police officer will provide court security and custodial services.

Regional Children's Courts cannot operate without both court security and custodial services. For example, where custodial services are unavailable in a regional town such as Halls Creek, a magistrate is unable to remand or sentence a young person to custody. In the absence of court security services, the court cannot sit at that location at all. Without these essential services, the administration of justice is disrupted, adversely affecting not only court users but also the wider community.

In the absence of confirmation that court proceedings in regional locations can be conducted in a safe manner, it is unfortunately necessary to limit court sittings to places where court security and custodial services can be assured.

To ensure critical court functions continue to be delivered in regional Western Australia, the Children's Court will implement interim sitting arrangements for the next three months.

The Children's Court recognises the significant disruption and inconvenience these arrangements will cause to court users in the following affected locations:

Bidyadanga
Dampier Peninsula
Derby
Fitzroy Crossing
Looma
Wyndham
Warmun
Kalumburu
Balgo
Halls Creek
Newman
Jigalong
Tom Price
Exmouth
Wiluna
Meekatharra
Cue
Shark Bay
Mullewa
Three Springs
Warburton
Blackstone
Warakurna
Leonora
Laverton
Esperance
Merredin
Katanning
Narrogin
Collie
Harvey
Margaret River
Manjimup
Moora

2. Circuits Vacated and Interim Arrangements for Circuit Court Sittings

Subject to further notice, and for a period of three months, the Children's Court will cease sitting in circuit locations where court security services are usually provided by WAPOL (Circuit Locations). Accordingly, all circuits listed at Circuit Locations between 1 June 2026 and 28 August 2026 are formally vacated.

Matters listed for a vacated circuit sitting will be dealt with by the court sitting at a designated home court location that has court security and custodial services (Home Court).

The affected Circuit Locations and their designated Home Courts are set out in Appendix A.

For clarity, this Information Note does not apply to weekend or public holiday Children's Court sittings, which will continue to operate under existing arrangements.

3. Children's Court Registries

Children's Court registries at Home Court locations will continue to operate as usual.

Children's Court registries at Circuit Locations that are staffed by the Department of Justice will continue to operate as usual (DoJ Staffed Circuit Locations, see Appendix A).

Children's Court registries at all other affected Circuit Locations will be closed from 1 June to 28 August 2026, and registry matters will be dealt with by the registry of the designated Home Court.

4. New Criminal Matters

From 1 June until 28 August 2026 all criminal charges involving young persons, upon lodgement will be given a hearing date at the designated Home Court location.

Unless otherwise directed by the court, an accused young person is required to appear in person at the Home Court.

Where a young person is arrested and refused bail by WAPOL at a location that is not a Home Court or a DoJ Staffed Court Location then the young person may appear before the court via audio-visual link to the designated Home Court.

For example:

A young person arrested in Fitzroy Crossing and refused bail by WAPOL may appear by audio-visual link from Fitzroy Crossing before the Broome Children's Court.
A young person arrested in Katanning and granted bail by WAPOL must be bailed to appear in person before the Albany Children's Court.
A young person issued with a notice to attend in relation to Exmouth charges must be required by that notice to appear before the Carnarvon Children's Court.

5. Existing Criminal Matters

The court will issue notices to accused young persons and responsible adults changing the court location to the designated Home Court for vacated circuit court sittings.

Lawyers and Youth Justice Officers should make all reasonable endeavours to obtain contact details for the young persons and responsible adults who they are dealing with and liaise with the designated Home Court registry to arrange appearance by audioâ€‘visual link.

6. Failure to Appear in Home Court

Where, because of the interim arrangements, a young person fails to appear in person at the designated Home Court and is unable to attend by audio-visual link:

the matter should be adjourned; and
bail will usually be extended, or an additional notice to attend issued.

In determining whether bail should be extended on the same terms and conditions, the court must take into account that a young person's inability to travel to the Home Court, or to appear by audio-visual link, would ordinarily amount to a reasonable cause for failing to comply with a bail undertaking to appear in person, for the purposes of s 51(1) of the Bail Act 1982.

7. Circuit Location Trials

Magistrates at each Home Court are requested to review upcoming trial listings affected by these interim arrangements and, where necessary, to give directions including (but not limited to):

vacating trial dates;
transferring trials to the relevant Home Court;
determining the manner of appearance of parties and witnesses, including whether appearances are to be in person or by audio visual link.

Trials involving young persons in custody that are transferred to a Home Court are to proceed, unless otherwise directed by the presiding magistrate.

For any affected trials being presided over by a Judge, the parties will be contacted directly by the court with directions.

8. Witnesses

Where trials are transferred to a Home Court, parties (including WAPOL) should, where necessary, lodge fresh applications for witness summonses for in-person attendance at the Home Court.

Parties applying for witness summonses for inâ€‘person attendance must have particular regard to the requirements of s 162(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2004, including the obligation to ensure that appropriate arrangements or means are provided to enable a witness to attend court.

Where appropriate, the court will consider a waiver of time for service requirements in accordance with paragraph 4 of Practice Direction 4 of 2022: Application for a Witness Summons.

In determining whether a witness, including WAPOL officers, should appear in person or by audio-visual link, the court should have regard to the practical availability of audio-visual facilities, including any inability of WAPOL to reliably facilitate an audioâ€‘visual appearance at the request of the court.

9. Protection and Care Matters

At Home Court locations, all protection and care matters are to be lodged and heard in accordance with existing arrangements.

At DoJ Staffed Circuit Locations, protection and care matters are to be lodged at that location. Where matters require in-person appearances, those matters will be transferred to the relevant Home Court.

For all other Circuit Locations, protection and care matters are to be lodged at the nearest DoJ Staffed Circuit Location or Home Court, in accordance with existing arrangements.

10. Restraining Order Matters

Current restraining order arrangements will continue, subject to the discretion of the presiding magistrate at the designated Home Court, and subject to WAPOL continuing to facilitate audio-visual links for interim hearings where required.

At DoJ Staffed Circuit Locations, arrangements will be in place for urgent initial hearings of restraining order applications to be conducted via audio-visual link.

For all other Circuit Locations, the Department of Justice is determining how flexible arrangements for the lodgement and hearing of restraining order applications may be implemented. Further updates will be provided as these arrangements are confirmed.

11. Judicial Discretion

For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Information Note limits or interferes with the judicial independence and discretion of a presiding magistrate in relation to the hearing, case management, or determination of any matter affected by the interim arrangements.